THE DELTA INITIATIVE POSTER


THE MOUNDBUILDERS

The mighty Mississippi and its many tributaries have deposited rich soils in the Delta region since long before recorded time. Many distinct cultures of prehistoric people, drawn by the bountiful wildlife and fertile earth, made their homes in these river valleys for thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived. Scientists now think that as early as 4000 B.C. when ancient Egyptians were erecting stone pyramids Native American Indians in the Lower Mississippi Valley began establishing communities with large arrangements of earthen mounds. The oldest mounds were possibly built by hunter-gatherers. The mounds of the later Mississippi period (A.D. 800-1500) were the handiwork of more settled people who tended crops and lived in towns. These settlements were the culmination of more than 5,000 years of development of monumental earthen architecture in the Delta and elsewhere in North America.

Many of the hundreds of earthen monuments built across the region have been destroyed over time. Those that remain stand in mute testament to the vitality, diversity, and nobility of the millions of people the forgotten cultures who developed these complex societies.

How Were The Mounds Made?

Imagine a small army of workers toiling from dawn to dusk, gathering baskets of dirt. They carry their burdens to a clearing, dump the soil, and tamp it down with their feet. They retrace their footsteps many times. Days pass, and as the ribbon of workers relentlessly empties baskets, a shape emerges and grows to great height. Variations of this scene were repeated for some 5,500 years throughout the rich bottomlands of the Lower Mississippi Valley.

How Do The Mounds Differ?

  • The shapes of mounds vary. They can be flat­topped pyramids, cones, ovals, or barely perceptible rises on the landscape.

  • Mounds can stand alone or be in clusters of as many as twenty constructions. Some mounds are clustered around broad plazas, while others are connected by earthwork ridges.

  • Signs of stockades and ditch fortifications enclosing some mounds imply warfare. The lack of discernible defenses at other sites suggest peaceful periods.

  • How Native Americans used the mounds also varied. The purposes of some of the most ancient mounds are still shrouded in mystery. Some societies buried their dead in mounds with great solemnity and ceremony. Other cultures built temples atop the mounds and worshipers approached by climbing steep stairs or ramps. Still other earthworks were symbolic pinnacles of power for leaders who dwelled atop them.

    Why Save The Mounds?

    Each mound has its own chapter to tell in the unfolding story of the human past. With construction spanning over fifty centuries, the earthworks disclose changes in how people behaved. Opportunities to discover more about these mounds and their builders disappear daily as erosion, farming, urban development, and looting continue to degrade these sites. Untold numbers of the ancient constructions have already been lost, and secrets of our nation's past have vanished with them. The Delta Initiative calls for the study and preservation of the rich contributions of the Lower Mississippi Delta region. Now is the time to gather some of the important Delta sites under an umbrella of public protection to prevent further loss of our shared cultural heritage.

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    4/2/96